Han Yujin Risk, Idol Gate (5)

KG Entertainment. 10th floor, CEO’s office.

Numerous albums hang on walls made of expensive natural marble.

True to KG Entertainment’s reputation as a “star-making factory,” each album displayed was a record-breaking hit.

From a basement room to a company building.

CEO Kwak Yunseop, who built a major agency from scratch, hung up the phone, trying to contain his anger.

“This is really giving me a headache…”

As he let out a weak sigh,

Someone burst into the CEO’s office.

Flashy silver piercings and street fashion.

A man exuding a young artist vibe, his face hidden under a bucket hat.

The leader of the group “Supernova” to which Yeon Sangho belongs, and a composer of numerous hit songs.

It was Kwon Juwon.

Kwak Yunseop couldn’t hide his delight.

“Juwon-ah. What brings you here?”

Unlike Kwak Yunseop, who smiled showing his gums, Kwon Juwon’s expression was clouded with displeasure.

As soon as he sat on the sofa, Kwon Juwon got straight to the point.

“What are you going to do about Yeon Sangho?”

“Why so suddenly?”

“You know too, CEO Kwak. I heard he caused trouble at the party yesterday?”

Kwak Yunseop had been worrying about that very issue.

He had just heard the whole story from CSA’s CEO Jang Bonggyu.

Kwak Yunseop tapped his fingers on the desk nervously.

“I know. I heard he was hit by a model friend?”

“He brought it on himself. If he got beaten to a pulp, it means he must have caused a major incident.”

Kwon Juwon’s sharp response.

Seeing this, Kwak Yunseop clicked his tongue.

He had noticed for a while that Kwon Juwon despised Yeon Sangho.

But he had never bared his fangs so openly as today.

“Juwon-ah. You’re the leader, how can you not trust the maknae?”

“Me? Trust him? Why?”

Kwon Juwon furrowed his brow finely.

“It’s not that I don’t trust him, I can’t trust him. You know too, don’t you? How he goes around with dozens of girls, arranging entertainment for business investments.”

“I know, but…”

“If you know, you should cut him out. When one fruit in the box rots, all the surrounding fruits rot too. What if he ruins the rest of us while trying to cover for that bastard?”

Kwak Yunseop tried to calm Kwon Juwon while suppressing a boiling sigh.

“Alright. Sangho is on his way, so let’s have a three-way meeting first.”

And a few minutes later.

Yeon Sangho entered, his face thoroughly hidden by a hat and mask.

“Sangho, you’re here?”

“Ah, CEO. My head is killing me.”

When Yeon Sangho took off his mask, his battered face was fully revealed.

Pale bruises and red wounds.

Seeing this, Kwon Juwon snorted.

“You really got beaten up good.”

“What? You call that a proper thing to say?”

“It’s not wrong, is it? From your eyelids to your lips, there’s not a spot unscathed.”

“Ah, fuck, what are you saying?”

“……Fuck?”

Kwon Juwon looked Yeon Sangho up and down with disdain.

“Yeon Sangho, you’ve really grown up.”

“We debuted 13 years ago. Wouldn’t it be a problem if I hadn’t grown when a newborn baby would have graduated elementary school by now?”

“The problem is your head grew too big.”

Kwon Juwon crossed his legs and continued.

“They say if you don’t know you in Gangnam, you’re a spy. I hear you’ve been hanging out with kids like Jeon Kwangho lately, trying to impress business people?”

Hearing this, Yeon Sangho raised one corner of his mouth and started to brag.

“Yeah. I’m doing business these days. I even joined a foundation recently. If you’re interested, let me know. I’ll set you up if you need connections.”

As he said this, he twirled his wrist, showing off his expensive watch.

Kwon Juwon’s eyebrows twitched subtly, irritated.

“You know you’re running without brakes, right?”

“I know. I know well. You know I’m not one to back down, hyung.”

“Yeah. It’s not my business if you derail and die running like a runaway train. But at least don’t cause trouble for CEO Kwak and the company people.”

“This hyung worries too much. I won’t cause trouble, so stop minding other people’s business and take care of your own.”

A precarious war of nerves.

Unable to watch this tense confrontation any longer, Kwak Yunseop hurriedly mediated.

“Let’s talk about yesterday’s incident.”

Kwak Yunseop, with interlocked fingers, asked in a subdued voice.

“I heard from CEO Jang that you provoked Han Yujin first.”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

Yeon Sangho shrugged his shoulders.

“Sangho-ya.”

Kwak Yunseop spoke gently, as if admonishing, with a voice full of fatigue.

“You know you’re going to film a public service announcement with Han Yujin tomorrow, right? She’s someone you’ll see a lot at broadcasting stations in the future, so it’s to your disadvantage if you get on bad terms with her.”

“But still…”

Kwon Juwon, who had been listening, rested his chin on the sofa armrest and asked Kwak Yunseop.

“A public service announcement? Him?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of advertisement is it?”

“Digital sex crime prevention.”

Kwon Juwon laughed out loud.

“Wow, digital sex crime prevention, he says. It’s not like leaving a cat to watch a fish shop, but he’s filming that kind of ad? This is ridiculous, really.”

Then, pointing to his own face, he asked again.

“But his face is all messed up now, can he even film?”

“That’s what I’m worried about too. We’ll have to cover it with Photoshop and makeup.”

“I don’t think any amount of concealer will cover that level of damage.”

Kwon Juwon, suppressing his laughter, sneered.

“A lot of people are suffering because of you, huh?”

“Hyung. Stop picking at it. You’re annoying me.”

Yeon Sangho looked at Kwak Yunseop and started to complain.

“CEO. You see my face, right? I got beaten up badly by Han Yujin’s male friend yesterday. And you’re telling me to just let this go?”

“Man, I heard you hit that woman’s younger brother and even sexually harassed her younger sister.”

“Come on, you believe that?”

Kwak Yunseop tapped the sofa armrest and replied.

“…They say there’s footage.”

“So you believe that?! The rumors will snowball, and if I just back down like an idiot here, what will become of me!”

“I don’t want to argue with you. Anyway, let’s just bury yesterday’s incident here.”

Kwon Juwon, who had been listening quietly, hesitated and opened his eyes wide.

“Wait a minute. Is the Han Yujin’s younger sister you’re talking about Han Sejin?”

Kwak Yunseop nodded reluctantly with an “oops” expression.

“Ah, fuck.”

The curse came out immediately.

Veins popped out on Kwon Juwon’s forehead. Then he stood up and grabbed Yeon Sangho’s collar.

“Are you really crazy?”

“What the hell! Why are you suddenly flipping out?”

“The Han Yujin’s younger sister you badmouthed is one of our own. A debut member of the girl group I’m producing this time. My kid, I’m saying.”

The new girl group KG Entertainment is launching in January.

Kwon Juwon was the overall producer in charge of that upcoming girl group.

Hearing this fact, Yeon Sangho explained in a pitiful voice.

“How was I supposed to know about trainee kids? If I had known, I wouldn’t have done it!”

Kwon Juwon, suppressing his boiling anger, let go of the collar he had grabbed and warned.

“Forget it. The debut teaser is already out and album mastering is finished. If you go around talking nonsense and splash shit on our kids, I’ll half kill you and grind your bones to dust.”

“Ah, this is really fucked up…”

Yeon Sangho got up from his seat, breathing heavily in excitement.

Then he glared coldly at Kwak Yunseop and Kwon Juwon and opened his mouth.

“CEO Kwak doesn’t want problems with CSA, and hyung doesn’t want their sister’s mental state damaged. So you’re telling me not to clash with Han Yujin, right?”

“Yeah, you fucking bastard. Don’t go around chirping like a bird about getting beaten up, just stay low and crumpled on your own.”

Smoothing out his crumpled face like a piece of paper, Yeon Sangho smiled sinisterly as if plotting something and rubbed his chin.

“Alright. I just need to not touch Han Yujin, right? I’ve got it properly in my head, so stop nagging.”

Then he slammed the door shut irritably and left the CEO’s office.

A chilly silence fell over the office as if covered in thin ice.

Kwon Juwon broke the silence first.

“You saw that?”

“……”

“I’m too anxious because of that bastard. I’m scared the three major networks’ news will be plastered with something like ‘Yeon Sangho Gate’.”

Hearing this, Kwak Yunseop gripped the sofa leather tightly.

“He should have understood well.”

“Do you still trust him, CEO?”

Kwon Juwon shook his head weakly.

“Even if he gets away with it today, what about tomorrow? And the day after? In just two days, it’s that bastard’s birthday and he’ll be throwing parties and causing trouble. He’s just a matter of time, a ticking time bomb.”

Kwon Juwon stood up and gave an ultimatum.

“I can’t do group activities with Yeon Sangho anymore. If you’re going to keep such a landmine on board… I’ll just leave.”

“Juwon-ah!”

It was a threat not to renew his contract.

“Ah, right.”

Kwon Juwon said quietly as he opened the door.

“I heard Han Yujin’s nickname is quite interesting. Look it up later if you’re interested and consider it for your final judgment.”

“What are you talking about? Hey, hey, Juwon-ah!”

Ignoring Kwak Yunseop’s desperate calls, Kwon Juwon left the CEO’s office.

“…I’m really going to die.”

Kwak Yunseop collapsed onto the sofa backrest and took out his phone.

Then, as if entranced, he typed ‘Han Yujin nickname’ in the search bar.

Kwak Yunseop took a sharp breath and half-doubted the stream of nicknames that appeared.

“…What is all this?”

We arrived at a nearby fusion restaurant to eat after finishing morning practice.

I had high expectations because ELF’s cafeteria was rumored to be delicious, but it was closed today for Christmas.

…That’s disappointing.

If it was delicious, I was going to ask the nutritionist for the recipe and make it for my kids!

That’ll have to wait for next time.

My cheeks are stinging.

The looks we’re getting are not normal.

Son Yena is still watching me and Hyun Junho with suspicious eyes.

Even the French philosopher Descartes, who said to doubt everything, probably wasn’t as paranoid as Son Yena.

We both tried hard to explain to Son Yena, but it didn’t work at all.

Like a bullet lodged in the head, Son Yena’s suspicion refuses to budge. Absolutely.

It’s literally like reading sutras to a cow’s ears…

No, it’s like reading explanations to Son’s ears.

Son Yena looked ready to wear a headband that said ‘HanJinYo’.

What’s HanJinYo, you ask?

‘We demand the truth from Han Yujin’…

Son Yena, with her eyes wide open like a frozen pollack, asked.

“I’m not intruding on your date, am I?”

“…”

Now my mouth hurts too much to even explain.

It might be easier and faster to just twist that slender neck and secretly bury her.

…No! I’m being corrupted by evil!

Think nice thoughts, pretty thoughts.

Just then, Hyun Junho picked up wooden chopsticks and spoke in an eerie tone.

“Yena-ya. If you keep this up, you might get hurt badly later.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“You don’t know Yujin’s nickname, right?”

“…Nickname?”

Son Yena tilted her head with an interested expression.

“Yujin’s nickname is Han Yujin Risk.”

“Han Yujin Risk? Han Yujin Danger?”

Hyun Junho snapped the wooden chopsticks and continued.

“Yeah, that risk when something’s dangerous. It means if you mess with Yujin, you’ll lose everything and be ruined.”

“…You’re lying.”

“No, think about it. How many people have gotten hurt after wrongly messing with her? They say when Yujin holds a grudge, frost falls even in May and June.”

Hyun Junho added further.

“Other nicknames include Human Killer, Blade Queen, Destruction God, Walking Death Note, and so on.”

My image…

Is it really okay like this?

Son Yena covered her mouth and said, “Ah.”

“That’s right. Oppa was Yujin unnie’s first victim, right?”

“Yeah. This person challenged her when she was a barcode and got taught a lesson. The tearful drinking broadcast still haunts my dreams. So if you keep this up, you’ll end up like me…”

Hyun Junho made a gesture of slitting his throat with the back of his hand.

“……”

Son Yena’s face turned pale. She moistened her lips with her tongue as if feeling a chill.

Then she suddenly apologized to me.

“Unnie, I’m sorry…”

“Forget it.”

I said, closing the menu.

“I’ll have the tomato salmon noodles. What do you want to eat, Yena?”

“…We’re going Dutch, right?”

“No. The godlike senior Hyun Junho said he’ll treat us. Order whatever you want.”

Son Yena’s face lit up.

“Wow, really? Then I’ll have…”

One, two, three, four…

Five.

A string of food items flowed out of Son Yena’s small mouth like dried croaker fish.

Is this girl crazy, really!

Who orders so excessively just because someone said to order? I take back what I said about her being socially adept, I take it back!

Hyun Junho smiled generously.

“Can you eat all that?”

“Of course. I get more than three servings of school lunch too.”

…Crazy.

Despite her tiny frame like a cotton ball, she unexpectedly turned out to be a big eater.

Well, Japanese competitive eaters and Korean mukbang YouTubers are all small and cute but can eat endlessly.

Hyun Junho wiped his hands with a wet towel and asked me.

“It’s Christmas, aren’t you going out somewhere with your siblings?”

“I’d love to, but I don’t have time. So Sejun volunteered to take the four twins to see a movie.”

“Oh, what movie?”

“HaChoo-ping 2.”

“Ah.”

I heard HaChoo-ping is so popular among kids these days.

When I get home, the kids will surely sing for me to buy HaChoo-ping merchandise.

So I prepared in advance!

I ordered everything online from HaChoo-ping figures to dolls, coin purses, notebooks, bags, and stationery sets.

“Your order is ready.”

Appetizing food arrived.

White noodles topped with purple onions, Aori apples, eggs, and salmon sashimi as garnish.

I took a bite with chopsticks.

“It’s so delicious…”

As expected, food tastes like honey after working hard.

It feels like crunchiness, sourness, and sweetness are having a tripartite government on my tongue.

As I’m eating enthusiastically, my cheeks sting again.

I look up to see Son Yena staring at me with her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel with acorns in its mouth.

Not at my face, but at my food.

“Hey! You have a lot to eat already!”

“…Yes.”

Son Yena’s face immediately became gloomy.

I had no choice but to hand over my chopsticks.

“Sigh, really. Eat!”

“Yes!”

Then Hyun Junho next to me lowered his eyebrows and made a disappointed expression.

“I’m the one paying, why are you only giving to Yena.”

These guys, really.

You might as well try to get blood from a stone!

“Ah, geez. Did you all get poverty in your stomachs? Alright.”

I put some noodles on a side plate. I also added carrots that I wasn’t going to eat.

Seeing this, Son Yena snickered.

“Unnie. Don’t tell me you don’t eat carrots?”

“Yeah. I don’t like carrots.”

“Come on, you should eat them.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Carrots are so good for you!”

“I still don’t want to eat them.”

Son Yena picked up a carrot with her chopsticks and held it to my mouth.

“Try it. It might be surprisingly okay because of the sauce.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Just once.”

“I said I don’t want to.”

Something…

Feels strange.

It’s like I’ve become Hanbom who was on a hunger strike refusing to eat spinach.

Back then, I was shoving spinach into Hanbom’s mouth, but now Son Yena is trying to shove a carrot into my mouth.

“My arm is getting tired.”

“So what?”

“I’m going to keep my arm up until you eat the carrot.”

“Do whatever you want. It’s your loss.”

“Ah, just eat it!”

“Ah, I said I don’t want toooo!”

The one trying to feed and the one refusing to eat.

As we were engaged in this fierce battle,

Hyun Junho ate the carrot in front of my lips instead.

“Yena-ya. Why are you doing this when she doesn’t want to eat?”

“…?”

Oh oh? There’s that look again.

Son Yena narrowed her eyes and stared like a patient possessed by a suspicious demon.

“Suddenly playing the white knight…?”

“It’s not like that!”

At that moment.

“Hey, did you see this?”

“What?”

“I heard Yeon Sangho got beaten up by someone.”

The conversation from the next table pierced my eardrum.

I stopped chewing and listened closely.

“Ah, I saw. It’s already causing a commotion.”

“Wow, I never dreamed Yeon Sangho would have such a good personality.”

“I know. He’s a big man, a real big man.”

…Huh?

I, I must have heard wrong, right?

Yeon Sangho has a good personality?

Yeon Sangho is a big man?

Not a small-minded person?!

And then.

“The guy who hit Yeon Sangho… he’s screwed.”

“I heard they’ve already doxed him.”

My appetite completely disappeared.